Week ending September 13, 2015

The number of women aged 40 years and older in the US using compounded hormone therapy (CHT) was estimated at 1 to 2.5 million, according to a pair of surveys of 801 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women aged 45 to 60 years who had experienced at least one menopausal symptom. The study suggests that many women are unaware that compounded hormones have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. Researchers found:

• Up to 2.5 million US women aged 40 years and older may use CHT annually, accounting for 28% to 68% of hormone therapy prescriptions.

• 86% of women surveyed were unaware that CHT products are not FDA-approved.

• 21% of 1,771 women surveyed indicated that their hormone therapy has been personalized based on hormone levels while 27% did not know.